Offaly GAA is in mourning following the death of hurler Johnny Flaherty.
Flaherty etched his name in the annals of GAA history by scoring a match-defining goal in the closing stages of the 1981 All-Ireland SHC final, as Offaly overcame Galway to lift the Liam MacCarthy for the first time.
That handpass goal is one of the most famous in Offaly folklore, right up there with Séamus Darby’s celebrated effort against Kerry in the football decider 12 months later.
Flaherty made a total of 66 appearances for Offaly – 40 league and 26 championship – between 1966 to 1983. He spent a significant chunk of the 1970s working in America but his return to Ireland was seen as the spark that helped light a glorious breakthrough period for Offaly hurling in the early 1980s.
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Despite edging towards the end of his playing career then, the Kinnitty clubman scored two goals in the 1980 Leinster final against Kilkenny as the Faithful County won their maiden provincial senior hurling title. The following year Offaly were crowned All-Ireland hurling champions for the first time.
Flaherty was named Offaly Hurler of the Year in 1979 and 1981, won an All Star at corner forward in 1981, and was also included on Offaly’s hurling team of the millennium. He died on Wednesday following a short illness.
Offaly GAA said Flaherty will “forever be immortalised” for his goal in the 1981 All-Ireland final and that it remains “one of the most cherished moments in Offaly GAA history”.
Offaly GAA added: “But his contribution hurling was far greater than that one memorable score. One of the county’s longest serving players of all time, he was inducted into the Offaly GAA Hall of Fame in 2014 and also enjoyed great success with his club, Kinnitty.
“In the mid-1970s, like so many young men of that era, emigration beckoned for Johnny and Offaly lost one of its brightest prospects. But Johnny’s return to his native land in the late 1970s coincided with not alone the greatest era in Kinnitty’s proud history, but also marked the start of Offaly’s emergence as a hurling power.
“His two goals against Kilkenny as Offaly won the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship title for the first time in 1980 epitomised his class at the top level.
“1981 was to be a truly special year in the career of Johnny Flaherty and Offaly, when he took the hand pass from Brendan Bermingham and palmed the winning goal in the All-Ireland final, thus ensuring his name would be forever enshrined in GAA folklore.”
Flaherty also won six Offaly senior hurling championships with Kinnitty between 1967 and 1985
“Johnny Flaherty is one of the great legends of Offaly GAA who made a very special contribution to hurling in the county,” said Offaly GAA chairman Michael Duignan.
“His famous goal in the 1981 All-Ireland final is one of the truly iconic moments in the GAA as Offaly finally joined hurling’s elite.
“It was brilliant that Johnny’s perseverance in the Offaly colours, through good times and bad, would eventually bring the reward that he and his team-mates deserved. That 1981 triumph inspired a new generation of Offaly hurlers who went on to achieve success at all levels.
“I know Johnny took great delight in the revival of Offaly hurling’s fortunes in recent years and was thrilled with Leinster titles won by the minor and under 20 teams, and their appearances in All-Ireland finals. His presence at our games will be sorely missed from now on.”
Golfer Shane Lowry also shared his memories of Flaherty. “He got a hole in one at Esker Hills, on a par four. I remember the first time I played golf with him. He stood up on the first tee, and we weren’t expecting it as Johnny was small enough, but he hit this [drive] on the first tee: ‘Jesus, where did that come from?’
“I played golf with him a few times, and he was the type of person who you’d hear in the golf club before you’d see him. He was good craic, Johnny.
“He is one of the legends of Offaly sport and Offaly hurling. It’s very sad for his family and it’s a bit of a shock.”
Predeceased by his wife Margaret, Flaherty is survived by his daughters Shauna and Claire.
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